In His Honor
by RobotArmsApts
Summary: The aque blastia came to mind then- even though Flynn had been the one to return it to them, most had praised and thanked him for getting it back; he tried to explain this was really Yuri's doing. At the time, she had thought he was being kind but now, now she wondered. (The birth of the Yuri Defense Squad from the Flynn Brigade Fanclub npc)


There are fureyuri undertones but this is primarily gen and canon compliant. Mild mid-game spoilers; when you go rescue Estelle and find the Lower Quarter folks in the cafeteria they will make you curry, and talk to her a bit the Flynn Brigade Fanclub will be changed to Yuri Defense Squad. It's been a while, so pardon if the names aren't exact.

Cross-posted to the fanworks twitter, fanworks tumblr, dA and Ao3.  
Disclaimer: I own this story but not the characters or game they're from. Bamco owns that.

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Yuri had only spoken to her briefly, confirming there were no other people from the Lower Quarter in need of rescuing elsewhere in the castle; they had all held down their own in the cafeteria, set on watch shifts and taking turns with tasks. Right now, it was her turn to go check on those that were injured during the escape from the lower part of the city.

It was all too easy to overhear some of them talking about how Flynn would be saving them and was already fighting bravely and hard, offering those assurances to others with frightened tears on their faces and hands far from steady. Being the founder of Flynn's fanclub, she undoubtedly knew he would, but at the same time this sat uneasy with her, getting further under her skin the more she thought on it. Sparing a glance Yuri's way, the brunette saw him looking with impatience born from worry, simply doing what he could while the others finished the meal prepared for them for their upcoming fights.

The aque blastia came to mind then- even though Flynn had been the one to return it to them, most had praised and thanked him for getting it back; he tried to explain this was really Yuri's doing. At the time, she had thought he was being kind but now, now she wondered. Her and Yuri were far from close friends, her own family having warned her to keep away from someone like him, as if he were a criminal for the wrong reasons(recent events not helping). Flynn had been the one to catch her eye, and it was easy to cheer for him having the makings of a person to be remembered; losing his family to grow up among them then bring pride to those that took him in and be someone the people could rely on. Flynn may have noble blood in him, but was far from how most of them were. Flynn actually cared about them too...

But so did Yuri.

It was not long later that bandages were changed, Yuri and his group had left with thanks and their weapons on the ready, confident this would be over soon. The brunette's feelings turned to troubled ones as she thought more on Flynn, Yuri and his newly acquired friends. Flynn was captain in the knights, so it was natural him and his brigade would be fighting as hard as they could to stop this new horror; Yuri was not. Yuri had no personal stake in any of this she knew of, and neither did his friends. That man was not telling and perhaps she should have pressed further. Yuri had done a lot for them in the Lower Quarter when it would have been better for him to not have done a thing. She had heard from Hanks what Yuri had done before he left to track down their aque blastia, and, sure, that was criminal activity, however, it was done to give them back things they had to scrounge to sell to cover the ever growing taxes. Some were personal items from loved ones passed or from what little they had left.

The brunette's thoughts turned to herself then, a nagging thought coming to mind that how were the ones wanting Flynn to succeed for their own selfish reasons better than the nobles who cared about status above most things?

"What's with the long face? You've been looking down for a while now."

Looking at her cousin, her own expression barely changed. He had asked in a light-hearted tone, but she could tell he was concerned. It wasn't so different from Yuri's look earlier. Now was as good as time as ever to get information she wasn't sure she wanted to hear. "Do you think things will really be okay? Yuri and his friends do look strong, and were confident it would be over soon, but this is something far from a normal monster or..." she didn't finish, watching her cousin for his reaction.

For his part, there was a brief flash of confusion then the laid back grin he normally wore returned. "Yuri? Don't tell me you've got eyes for him now."

"Of course not," she replied quickly, frowning and giving him a look that said he was being an idiot for assuming such a thing.

"I figured Flynn's number one fan would be more concerned about him. He's been out there risking his life for everyone. Flynn's a real hero."

There was a bit of a star struck tone to those words and really, she should have known. He had aspirations of joining the knights next year, having looked up to Flynn as an example that someone from the Lower Quarter could make it there. "You know, Yuri has been out there doing the same thing. The group he has look strong and were nice too."

"Come on, you know better than that. Yuri is Yuri, and we don't know why he's doing it or much about those people either." The implications they were doing it for personal gain went left unspoken.

"Then why don't you ask him when they come back?"

He shot her a disbelieving look, putting his hands up in front of himself in mock defense. "No way! If they even think I'm associating with Yuri, that would ruin my chances at getting in the knights before I could try. How many times has he been arrested now anyway?"

Their conversation was interrupted by another man getting her cousins attention, informing him it was his time to take watch. He told her they would talk about it later and he was too happy to go on his shift. Left on her own again, the brunette could not sit still for her own break and went to talk to others while she had the chance.

Most conversations went close to the same, and at least there were those that cared, but put more faith in Flynn. Yuri had those that believed in him too, but the numbers were unfairly balanced given what Yuri had done for them. How many times has she went on and agreed with them too? Praising Flynn's name above others all while Yuri was there acting like their own personal hero already?

A gentle tap on her shoulder got her attention, and she was a little surprised to see the kindly woman that ran the Inn.

"I've heard you going around asking about Yuri suddenly." She spoke of Yuri's name fondly, reminding the club founder of a mother speaking of their child. She had made sure Yuri and Repede had somewhere to stay, and knew of what happened during those three months he was gone. It wasn't something he openly went in detail with with anyone else outside of Hanks and his wife either.

"Yuri was really the one that got our blastia back, wasn't he?"

"Him and his friends, yes. Flynn did try and tell them it was Yuri's doing, but very few would listen, let alone take that seriously. He had stopped by that afternoon for a short visit, looking frustrated over it." The Innkeeper knew it was Yuri's doing. She watched that boy grow up into someone that cared a great deal, letting insults bounce off his back with a snarky reply and a grin to match. Yuri had caused his share of trouble, for certain, but it was never for a cruel purpose.

"Flynn and Yuri are really close aren't they?" She tucked away the knowledge over Yuri not getting credit for his work, then realized she couldn't exactly recall a time he asked for any when he did something to help them.

The Innkeeper nodded. "Those two are a set, and Flynn thinks very highly of Yuri. You might be beaten out for being Flynn's biggest supporter."

That smile on her face felt like there was something else there, but now wasn't the time to unpack it. "I see..." If they were a set, then the club would have to change very soon; hadn't she had Flynn's best interest in mind when making the club? It seemed like Yuri's image was one of Flynn's higher interests...

"I'm going on my watch now, and I think from the looks of it, you got what needed to hear," the Innkeeper spoke kindly. They loved Yuri, he was part of their family but she was all too aware of the pressures Flynn had growing up regarding the knights, and that kind of life was never going to be Yuri's. She knew Yuri's true nature, and after all he had gone through for them, making sure he always had a place to come home to was the most she could offer him. Repede was an unexpected but welcome addition to their family as well- that dog understood them and she would stand by that. For now, it was time to get to her shift. She silently prayed to the maker that this ordeal would be over soon, for their boys and their friends fighting with everything to return home to them in one piece.

The time the brunette picked over the information for felt much longer than what it really was, but a decision had been made- one Flynn would approve of, the club founder was positive about that. Yuri had done more than she thought for all of them, their own protector not getting much in the way of thanks, dealing with insults and not enough credit for his work.

Her mind was made up; Flynn had many fans already. She would still keep her self-given title of his number one fan, and as that, the next time she saw Yuri he would be learning the Flynn Brigade Fanclub was gone; taking its place would be the now born Yuri Defense Squad.

Satisfied and determined, based on her conversations shortly ago, there was work to be done.


End file.
